1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flight data monitoring methods and systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years, commercial and military aircraft (including helicopters) have been required by law to carry a Flight Data Recorder (FDR), often referred to as a “black box”, to record certain system parameters. Initially this was so that if an aircraft crashed, then investigators could use the recorded data to find out why the crash happened. The recorder is commonly located in an area of the aircraft where it is most likely to survive the crash, for example the tail.
However, later the idea of using the recorded data to prevent accidents (as well as investigate them) grew. One drawback was the location of the FDR, which was not easy to access. Therefore, a quick access recorder (QAR) was introduced. The QAR records the same information as the FDR but is located where the maintenance crew can easily access the recorder to download the recorded flight data.
Flight data from a flight data recorder or quick access recorder may monitored to identify various events of interest, for example safety-critical events in which a given flight parameter goes beyond known safe limits.